Is heave worth a traditional actuator setup vs just a motion seat?

[Namso85]

Hello. I play in vr and was looking to add motion to my rig. I am torn between a 3dof pt actuator system and a 2dof seat mover. I drive mostly the nord in Assetto Corsa and with the changes in elevation I can see how not having a heave sensation might feel like something is missing on top of heave just feeling fun in real driving. I am just wondering if the addition of heave is negligible in the overall experience or if it’s worth dropping significantly more money to have. What say you guys?

 

[ColinMac]

Deffo heave is the thing I always notice. Along the long straight it's mad to feel the tarmac heights change. or in single seaters in VR, it's the most intense element. I keep actual motion levels relatively low. Am sure it also helps when you put wheels up on the nords kerbs, or rumble strips.

Appreciate there's a huge gap in cost. Had PTA kit before DBox. For me, actuators every day of the week.

 

[ColinMac]

Drop me a PM if you have any questions. I've been around the block now - and know SRS (the motion app) pretty well now.

 

[OlaGB]

I’d say heave weighs in 60-70% of the great experience of a good motion system.. To me it’s the most important layer.

 

[Elaphe]

Maybe for rally driving it would be a very important part of the motion system but for anything else I see the use of actuators is way too complex and exaggerated in comparison with a seat mover, which is small, simple and add just the right amount of motion you need to add something to the inmersion, improve the experience and make it believable. There are too many dissadvantes from my point of view in actuators: complex to install, you have to control the weight of your rig, they can be a bit slow or laggy, the noise it makes, it takes too much space, lots of cables, it's more prone to failures...

 

[ColinMac]

Respectfully This is all wrong. . I 100 percent disagree.

I’ve yet to try a seat mover which works as well as my dbox gear. And I’ve tried a good few at the Expo.

Each to their own tho.

 

[OlaGB]

Maybe for rally driving it would be a very important part of the motion system but for anything else I see the use of actuators is way too complex and exaggerated in comparison with a seat mover, which is small, simple and add just the right amount of motion you need to add something to the inmersion, improve the experience and make it believable. There are too many dissadvantes from my point of view in actuators: complex to install, you have to control the weight of your rig, they can be a bit slow or laggy, the noise it makes, it takes too much space, lots of cables, it's more prone to failures...

You must have been looking at the wrong motion systems

No lag, low noise, absolutly no exxagerated movement unless you want it to, and i’m pretty sure i can install (with tuning even) a DK2 kit just as fast as you can install a seatmover.

And heave is just as important on a roadrace track as in rally.

 

[No Depth]

Yea, as someone that has used both an NLRv3 seat mover and now a D-Box, I also cannot agree with the comments made about actuators feeling delayed or suffering any additional tech or complexity constraints.

The feeling a user gets is subjective as the largest difference is that the seat mover, being unshackled from the rig in terms of movement, can create a slight sense of g-force momentum as it physically moves you towards or away from your wheel or shifter, etc... Its a unique sensation but also one of the chief complaints by most. This is due to the motion disrupting your natural seating position as your legs and arms will be reaching or reacting to the seat forcing them slightly out of a comfort zone depending on how hard you run the motion of the seat. Ultimately this led to me scaling back certain effects dramatically as I got sick of reaching for my shifter or wheel under certain driving conditions. Add in that your seat can wobble a bit due to requiring a bit of play for the motion can get awkward at times.

Actuators replace all that by having the entire rig move, so the sensation of the ground beneath you suddenly moving is quite different. The seat is now hard locked to the rig allowing for a comfortable driving position that remains constant. The heave provides a stronger sensation of imperfections, jumps, curbs, elevation, etc... But you do feel fully connected, so the sensation of being whipped around independent to your rig is a bit lost, but replaced with what I find to be a superior sensation(and I suppose seat harness motors would provide that G-Force sensation even stronger anyway).

Even with mere 1.5" travel on my D-Box, I cannot overstate how impressive the heave simulates jumps and landings or any major elevation change. It's not a lot of travel, but I've had minor stomach pits when it occurs. I imagine VR enhances exponentially the feeling compared to looking at static monitors on a stand as I do. Not to discount a seat mover as being less impressive in its own right for cheaper in many cases, but if able to go with actuators, I would recommend it.

 

[NetLawMan]

Maybe for rally driving it would be a very important part of the motion system but for anything else I see the use of actuators is way too complex and exaggerated in comparison with a seat mover, which is small, simple and add just the right amount of motion you need to add something to the inmersion, improve the experience and make it believable. There are too many dissadvantes from my point of view in actuators: complex to install, you have to control the weight of your rig, they can be a bit slow or laggy, the noise it makes, it takes too much space, lots of cables, it's more prone to failures...

Have you ever owned an actuator system?

 

[a_ekis]

una prueba de alguien que tiene ambos tipos.

 

[NetLawMan]

una prueba de alguien que tiene ambos tipos.

It’s hard to know the scope/applicability of the conclusion as he does not reference the top motion actuators (Dbox/DK) - so does the conclusion hold when selecting one of those two systems? That said, it seems like one of the points he is making is that the movement of the seat adds a gforce element to it. That is a positive point. While I would definitely not trade my dbox system for any seatmover, it seems like it is a viable option.